Comments on: Kovalchuk SIGNS…in RUSSIA! **UPDATE***http://hockeytraderumors.com/kovalchuk-signs-in-russia-update/
NHL - Hockey Trade Rumors, providing NHL Hockey Trade Rumors since 1996Mon, 29 Feb 2016 22:12:02 +0000hourly1By: OldGoaliehttp://hockeytraderumors.com/kovalchuk-signs-in-russia-update/comment-page-2/#comment-123078
Sat, 10 Sep 2005 15:52:05 +0000http://localhost/wordpress24/?p=10502#comment-123078I don’t have to watch the Steelers. Welcome to reality…the new CBA is here, and teams like Pittsburgh can actually be competitive again. We can argue about the reasons and the virtues of it until we turn purple, and you can whine about it all you want…bot nobody on this or any other message board is changing it.
]]>By: AHLoldiehttp://hockeytraderumors.com/kovalchuk-signs-in-russia-update/comment-page-2/#comment-123077
Sat, 10 Sep 2005 11:08:33 +0000http://localhost/wordpress24/?p=10502#comment-123077Freeze…we’re going round and round. I agree that the original 6 did fine. I followed the AHL at that time. BUT…the original 6 couldn’t pay the existing salaries. There wouldn’t be the revenue in Detroit and Chicago etc. to generate the MONEY needed. You’re an isolationist. Face it. Hockey has fixed their problem. If baseball would only follow their example, they could save their game too. Remember…when the NFL went to the cap, there were protests too from the big market teams. Dallas was then known as America’s team. They aren’t anymore. There is no America’s team. Everybody has a shot.
]]>By: Freezehttp://hockeytraderumors.com/kovalchuk-signs-in-russia-update/comment-page-2/#comment-123076
Fri, 09 Sep 2005 22:28:37 +0000http://localhost/wordpress24/?p=10502#comment-123076“You are aware that Pittsburgh has already sold more seats for 2005-06 than they did for all of 2003-04, right? It’s not that we don’t care about the sport here…it’s that we don’t care to be unable to compete with teams that have more money for reasons that don’t necessarily have anything to do with hockey.”

Come on. Pittsburgh sold more seats this year, not so much because of the CBA, but because of Sidney Crosby. You got lucky.

When Pittsburgh had a powerhouse in the early 90’s, those fans didn’t give a crap how much Lemieux and Steven and Mullen and Francis made. They were interested in good hockey, not team finances. How is it Pittsburgh could survive then, but not recently? Does lack of talent and a lousy product have anything to do with it? How is it that small market Calgary can compete, but Pittsburgh can’t?

I think you may be over-estimating the impact of the CBA on season ticket sales in Pittsburgh.

There have ALWAYS been fewer Canadian teams than USA teams in the NHL. The Original Six had 2 Canadian teams out of 6 . Today, we have 6 Canadian teams out of 30 NHL teams. The odds are that most Canadian players will end up with a USA team. I’m sure the strong American dollar and stronger economy has a lot to do with it.

The downfall in your thinking is you don’t make an association between empty seats and low advertising $$$. Would you pay to advertise on TV if you knew NO ONE IS WATCHING? I wouldn’t. To say that fans won’t watch because of economic factors is bunk. They watch in Ottawa and Calgary and Edmonton where supposedly these fans have to battle not only the “small market syndrome” but also the weak Canadian dollar.